God bless capitalism!
Apple’s pioneering new Vision Pro augmented/virtual-reality headset, the Vision Pro, has certainly got people talking… before and after its release in early February. Whether it’s the cool features, the absolutely stunning HD video resolution, or the philosophical debate about increasing tech prevalence in our daily lives, Apple has certainly got tongues wagging… and their PR managers are no doubt pleased as punch for it!
That being said, the decision by Apple to limit initial units on sale to 80,000 has sparked, perhaps not surprisingly, a burgeoning resale market, both domestic and international, as techies around the world prepare to pay top-dollar for the new VR/AR hardware.
Bloomberg News has been tracking and reporting on the exploding resale market for Apple’s latest gizmo, and have discovered opportunistic vendors snapping up Vision Pro units in the U.S. and exporting them for international selling at inflated prices, something Apple are not best pleased at but can do little to nothing about.
If you live in Uncle Sam and have $3,500 lying down the back of your sofa, then you could get a Vision pro headset if you’re still lucky enough to find one. However, if you’re not in the good ol’ U.S. of A and feel your life isn’t complete without a Vision Pro strapped to your noggin then get set to pay out a nifty sum for the privilege.
Bloomberg has tracked international vendors selling the Vision Pro to markets as far afield as Japan – where it was retailing for 800,000 yen ($5,400) – China – selling for 36,000 yuan ($5,000) – and Singapore – retailing for 8,500 Singapore dollars ($6,300).
The exclusivity plus the high price indicates Apple seeing the vision Pro very much as a ‘prestige’ big-ticket purchase for those with disposable income to spend on such items, but the surprising thing is that despite the aforementioned retail price, there has been no shortage of demand for it, and not just from well-heeled customers either.
This demand has increased speculation as to how big the market is for VR/AR headsets going forward, with the obvious caveat that both size and price will decrease as the market settles in and the device technology itself develops. This demand may be skewed somewhat by the exclusivity of the Vision Pro, vis-a-vis its limited production, and how that enticement of a ‘limited edition’ piece of cutting-edge tech is fuelling interest.
Another interesting finding of the reportage into the new headset is that it’s not just Apple fans and tech gurus snapping up the Vision Pro but also rival manufacturers and overseas software developers, no doubt keen to get a look at it and strategize their next technological and commercial steps against the tech giant.
